On Tuesday February 12th, dozens of organizers and labor leaders gathered at IBEW Local 103 to hear Steve Sullivan, Director of Organizing and Government Affairs for Teamsters Local 25, tell in detail how a peaceful picket line in Somerville resulted in an unnecessary and unprompted use of force by police. What made the discussion even more compelling was the fact that Steve Sullivan was behind the camera throughout the entire ordeal, and was able to capture a scene of union suppression that was reminiscent of the 1930's, before workers gained the rights that are supposed to protect the right to picket and strike.

Teamsters Local 25 has been working hard to organize the employees at F.W. Russell Disposal in Somerville, but have had their efforts undermined by the illegal union busting tactics of Russell owner Charles Carneglia. Local 25 organizers Steve South and Pat Palmisano, who also addressed the Roundtable, collected authorization cards from 51 of the approximately 70 workers at Russell, despite the fact that Carneglia would often confiscate the cards as his employees came into work.  Steve Sullivan cited complaints by employees which surfaced numerous labor law and public safety violations, ranging from wage and hour infractions to physical abuse inflicted on employees to unsafe working conditions and even the use of unsafe trash disposal trucks that endanger the public in addition to the workers. However, when it became clear that Local 25 had the support of a majority of employees, Carneglia blatantly intimidated his workers during a captive audience meeting, and later fired several union supporters.

In light of these shameful practices, in the early morning of December 27th, 2007, over 150 Teamsters gathered to picket outside the Russell gate; and after six hours of peaceful protest, saw 40 police officers dressed in riot gear suddenly, unexpectedly and entirely unnecessarily arrive on the scene as Russell trucks driven by scabs attempted to leave the yard.

The video of the incident clearly documents the protestors being abused and arrested without cause, and gives an important glimpse into the character of owner Charles Carneglia, who is seen taunting the picketers while wearing a sombrero, an obviously mocking and arrogant insult by Carneglia highlighting the fact that Russell Disposal routinely exploits the labor of immigrant workers.

Teamsters Local 25 has filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board in response to the illegal firing of union supporters and other labor law infractions, and the events of December 27th are still under litigation.

Aside from the disgraceful examples of worker mistreatment, perhaps the most disappointing fact about this unfortunate situation is that many taxpayers are forced to finance this abuse - and in some cases are being defrauded by Russell Disposal. There are many examples of Russell billing cities and towns for more hours of work than they actually serviced the communities. There are also examples of Russell undermining public safety and the environment in the communities that they supposedly serve, using unsafe vehicles, unlicensed drivers, and openly disregarding environmental regulations.

Residents of the ten cities and towns which contract Russell for trash or recycling disposal are urged to please contact your elected officials to let them know that taxpayers do not want hard-earned tax dollars financing human rights abuses. F.W Russell currently has contracts in: Methuen, Walpole, Chelmsford, Belmont, Somerville, Lowell, Wakefield, Cambridge, Wilmington and Dracut.

To see a video of the incident click here. Take note of Russell owner Charles Carneglia derisively wearing a sombrero, making light of his exploitation of immigrant workers.